Talk to locals, have someone take video walkthroughs, get multiple perspectives.

All of these have free videos on YouTube!

If anyone has recommendations for free resources—whether it’s books, websites, videos, or anything else that could help me sharpen my skills—I’d really appreciate it.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

I recently watched a video where an investor bought a mortgage loan at a steep price, with an exit strategy that hinged entirely on getting the borrower to agree to one specific term.

It often feels like a constant game of cat and mouse with phone carriers.

Over the past year or so I've read books, blogs, and watched more YouTube videos than I can remember.

My advisor suggested that at my stage of the game, 8 properties, it likely made more sense to keep the extra money available or in the business to use as emergency funds or to accumulate for another down payment.

The appreciation and principal paydown gained over the years was well worth the shell game I played by under rehabbing the houses for rent to keep under that 70% ltv mark and still offering enough to take them down.  

I know this is a super competitive space and like @Joshua Granberg said, the new zoning changes in western Washington in recent years has been a game changer for these types of units.